Arakim's Legacy(#Wattys2015)

Chapter 5

As soon as Arakim stepped into the pristine room, he felt a crawling sensation on his skin and thought of the three days he'd gone without a proper bath and how much he needed one and clean clothes while he was at it before he confronted his grandfather who was always impeccably outfitted and today was no exception.

Sitting regally on his throne, resplendent in his royal finery of richly embroidered purple robes and gold crown on his head with its precious gems adorning it like a host presiding over a hall full of dignitaries from all the world having a ball, instead the room was empty except for the guards. Neha was right. He stank.

And with out a break in his stride, Arakim walked across the room to the dais on which grandfather sat waiting. For him? Most unlikely because his grandfather waited for no on. He stopped several feet from the dais, near the stuffed tiger on his right and with none of the feelings churning inside him visible on his face, and spoke to his grandfather.

"Grandfather.'' Bowing respectfully. "You sent for me?' And was met with silence. Unusual for his grandfather who would have started ranting by now. If not that the man looked exactly like his grandfather he would begin to question his own sight.

An elderly man in his seventies but looked to be in his fifties, with grey streaked but full dark brown hair brushing wide shoulders, deep set eyes, brown almost black eyes, under a prominent forehead with a few aging lines. An aquiline nose, the one thing they had in common, and a square jaw with a stubborn tilt to it that everyone said I got also but Arakim didn't think so.

When the silence stretched out too long to be comfortable, Arakim continued speaking.

'What was so important that could not wait for a few weeks till I returned? That you felt you had to force my return by sending twenty armed guards with Alam to come get me?' Impatiently combing his fingers through his thick black hair while watching his grandfather when he still made no response and nearly missed the flash of loathing and fear in his eyes before it was all blanked out. What was going on here? Grandfather had never been afraid of anything or anybody in his life as far as Arakim knew.

'Alam!' Arakim scoffed, an eyebrow lifted. 'You would have been better off sending one of the lame dogs that are around the palace to get me for all the clumsy way he was going about it.'' he finished scornfully, nose turned up in disgust. "The only thing that stopped me from killing him was the thought of explaining it to his mother.'' Shuddering in fear.

No one willingly went up against Aunt Nesha, my father's elder sister, a formidable lady that used to rule her husband's people with an iron will and sheer strength alone in a land where women were accorded no respect.

Even grandfather was intimidated by my aunt, judging from the reluctant twitch of his lips when Arakim mentioned her name but he immediately stiffened up darting a quick glance over my right shoulder and nobody needed to tell me that someone had just entered room, probably from one of the two doors behind him that led to the royal offices, because Arakim would have noticed if he came from the royal library that was on his left side of the throne dais.

The temperature in the room plummeted to such a level that Arakim was surprised not to see his breath freeze in the air. The intense power of the malevolence washing over him was crippling and would have brought a lesser man to his knees.

Arakim barely managed not to choke on the sharp breath he took and tried with everything he had to control his reactions and not give anything away to whatever that was behind him and kept up the pretence of speaking like nothing had changed.